bloom



Nov. 14, 1939. c, BLOQM Re. 21,259

DRIVE FOR ROD WEEDERS Original Filed Sept. 29, 193 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I M?2H 19! I CHARLES F. BLOOM H INVENTOR BY I 21 ATTORNEY" Nov. 14, 1939. c.F. BLOOM DRIVE FOR ROD WEEDERS Original Filed Sept. 29, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY (BIHARLES F. BLOOM Reissued Nov. 14,1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Original No. 2,135,382, dated November1, 1938,

Serial No. 166,401, September 29, 1937. Application for reissue August16, 1939, Serial No.

12 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a drivefor rod weeders of the end drive type, and is particularly directed to afloating drive wheel which is so mounted upon the weeder frame that ithas free vertical movement relative to the frame and maintains aperpendicular relation to the frame during the vertical movements.

The required reverse drive movement is obtained by a pair of gearsenclosed in an oil filled housing mounted within the floating drivewheel which shields the housing from entanglement with weeds, vines andother tares in which such machines are required to work; and the gearsbeing entirely enclosed they are shielded from entanglement with suchrefuse and from the abrasive action of rocks and dirt, to which theywould otherwise be subjected. The weeding rod is flexibly connected tothe reversing gear by means of a drive cable so as to eliminate thenecessity for universal joints which would otherwise be required wereatumbler shaft drive employed.

The tilting movements which are inherent to the floating drive wheels ofthe prior art, interfere with constancy of the traction and alsoobjectionably scoop up considerable earth. These inaptitudes arecorrected by my improved construction which maintains the drive wheelperpendicular to the weeder frame during the vertical movements.

By employing the flexible drive cable I provide greater freedom forvertical movement of the rive wheel and also eliminate the necessity foruniversal joints which are quite likely to become entangled with weedsand vines during the operation of the machine, and are also subject toexcessive wear by the abrasive elements in the earth, particularly onthe lower universal joint which must by necessity operate under theground.

With my improved construction, the drive wheel is free to rise and fallindependent of the weeder frame, and therefore the weeding rod remainsat constant depth unafiected by the vertical n1ovements of the drivewheel. Also, the floating drive wheel will inherently follow anydepression in the ground and provide constant traction for driving theweeding rod, in contradistinction'to the weeding rod supporting thedrive wheel over such depressions with the consequent loss of tractionfor driving the weeding rod.

The accompanying drawings illustrate two modes for carrying my inventioninto practice.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view'of a weeder embodying one form of myinvention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional View, taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 .is an enlarged sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Figure l, apart of the casing beingbroken away to disclose the gears.

Figure 4 is aplan view of a weeder embodying the preferred form of myinvention.

Figure 5 is an enlarged front view of the drive wheel mechanism shown inFigure 4.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail showing 10 the slidableengagement of the drive cable within the reversing gear.

In the practical application of the invention, the weeder itself may beof any suitable construction. For the purpose of illustration, theweeder frame is shown with a front rail F and a rear rail R, on theunderside of which the well known goose necks 2 are rigidly secured bymeans of tie plates P. The weeding rod 3 is provided with journalbearings 3B which are rotatably mounted in the shoes 3A which are fixedto the goose necks 2. A suitable draft tongue such as T is attached tothe frame.

As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, my improved drive comprises a gearhousing ll provided with .25 a pair of axially aligned bearings 3-4)which support the journal ends of a stub axle 6 which has a drive gear18 fixed thereto. This drive gear I8 meshes with a reversing gear l9which has a hub 2D journaled in a bearing 29A in the housing 8. 30

Fixed to the axle 6 is a head I to which the drive wheel 4 is securelybolted with its rim 4A overhanging the housing 8. Exteriorly of thehousing, a cap plate It) is secured to the end of the axle 6 by a capscrew HJA so as to limit end play of the axle 6.

The housing 8 is reinforced at 5 and a flat slide bar H is securelybolted to this reinforced part of the housing. This flat slide bar I lpasses vertically through the guide casing A which is securely bolted tothe end of the weeder frame; in the present instance, an end rail E isshown for that purpose. Free vertical movement of this slide bar isenhanced by a number of guide rollers journaled in the guide casing A.The up- A5 per roller l2 and the lower roller it bear against one of theflat sides of this slide bar and an intermediate roller l3 bears againstthe opposite flat side. A top roller I5 bears against the front edge ofthe slide bar and a bottom roller i5A bears against the rear edgetheroef. These rollers I5 and I5A take the stress of the back force uponthe drive wheel 4 when the weeder is pulled in the direction of thearrow shown in Fig, 3. As the weeder is never operated in the oppositedirection, the slidable engagement of the slide bar within its guidecasing suifices for the usual requirements, but if further support isdesired, it is conveniently practical to extend the bearing bosses asshown at l6 and H to contact the respective edges of the slide bar. Asuitable stop such as S may be provided to limit the downward movementof the slide bar With this improved construction, the drive wheel andthe gear housing are vertically movable relative to the weeder framewith but slight resistance, and the drive wheel is maintainedperpendicular to the weeder frame during these vertical movements.

A suitable length of drive cable 2| is secured to the end of the weedingrod as indicated at 22, and the opposite end of this cable is connectedto the reversing gear |9 so as to turn therewith. This provides for theweeding rod to be turned opposite to the rotation of the drive wheel 4,which reverse rotation is a prime requisite in rotary rod weeders.

In Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 the described guide casing is supplanted by twoconverging pairs of parallel bars 25 and 26 which are pivoted to the barII and to the weeder frame so as to provide for vertical movement of thedrive wheel 4 and maintain it perpendicular to the weeder frame duringthe vertical movements. 7

The front pair of parallel bars 2626 are pivoted to the upright bar H bymeans of the bolts 28 and 29 which are vertically spaced apart asuitable distance; the bolts 28 and 28 are vertically spaced apart thissame distance and pivotly connect the other ends of the bars 26-26 tothe upright bracket 25 which is rigid with a horizontal tail piece Hwhich is bolted to the front rail F of the weeder frame as indicated at21. The rear pair of parallel bars 26' are pivoted in this same mannerand their bracket 25' is fixed to the rear rail R of the weeder frame.

From this description it will be seen that the drive wheel 4 isvertically movable relative to the weeder frame and is maintainedperpendicular to the weeder frame during the vertical movements. The twopairs of parallel bars converge towards the drive wheel 4 and afford amore adequate brace effect than if the two pairs were parallel to eachother.

The described parallel bar construction is such that it can be assembledon either end of a weeder frame and the drive cable connected to theweeding rod in the described manner. When two end drive weeders arehitched together it is necessary that one have the drive wheel at theleft end and the other have the drive Wheel at the right end, and itwill be seen that this form of my invention provides this importantrequisite by mere difference in assembly and without the expense of dualmanufacturing of both left and right end drives.

Fig. 6 shows an enlarged sectional detail of the preferred mode ofmounting the drive'cable 2| to turn with the reversing gear |9. As hereshown, the hub 20 is provided with a square channel 3|, and the drivecable 2| is provided with a square head 3|] which is slidably mounted inthe channel 3| and retained therein by a keeper plate 32 secured to thehub 20 by screws 33-33. This structure provides for longitudinalmovement of the drive cable 2| within the hub 20 and enhances the rangeof rise of the drive wheel 4 for a given length of drive cable.

In operation, my improved drive is secured to one end of the weeder, andit will be understood that the opposite end of the weeder does notrequire a carriage wheel; however, if desired, the well known transportwheels of the prior art may be mounted at the rear of the frame withs" 1. able means for raising and lowering them accord ing to the commonpractice. As the weeder drawn over the ground, the weeding rod sinksbelow the surface, unimpeded by the drive wheel, and will operate at auniform depth uninfluenced by the rise of the drive wheel in negotiatingelevations in the path of travel. The traction of the drive wheel isconstant at all times, irrespective of elevations and depressions in thepath of travel. The floating movements of the drive wheel and drivecable, materially assist in freeing refuse from lodgement between theseparts and 5 the weeder, and it will also be noted that the improvedconstruction provides ample clearance space for the escape of suchrefuse which is a constant problem in rod weeder operation.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a weeder embodying a frame with downwardly projecting membershaving a weeding rod rotatably mounted therein; a rotatably mounteddrive wheel, means for fioatingly mounting said wheel at one end of saidframe, said means maintaining said wheel in constant perpendicularrelation with said frame during the floating movements of said wheel,and a drive means operatively connecting said weeding rod to said driveWheel and turning said weeding rod opposite to the rotation of saiddrive wheel.

2. In a weeder embodying a frame with downwardly projecting membershaving a weeding rod rotatably mounted therein; a rotatably mounteddrive wheel, a drive gear turned by'said wheel, a reversing gear,meshing with said drive gear, means for floatingly mounting said wheeland said gears at one end of said frame, said means maintaining saidWheel in constant perpendicular relation with said frame during thefloating movements of said wheel, a drive cable turned by said reversinggear and fixed to said weeding rod for turning the same opposite to therotation of said drive wheel.

3. In a weeder embodying a frame with downx Wardly projecting membershaving a Weeding rod rotatably mounted therein; a rotatably mounteddrive wheel, a drive gear turned by said wheel, a reversing gear meshingwith said drive gear, means for fioatingly mounting said wheel and saidgears at one end of said frame, said means maintaining said wheel inconstant perpendicular relation with said frame during the floatingmovements of said wheel, and a drive cable turned by said reversing gearand fixed to said weeding rod for turning the same opposite to therotation of said Wheel, said drive cable being slidably engaged withsaid reversing gear so as to enhance the range of floating movement ofsaid drive wheel.

4. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a housing, an axle mounted in thehousing, a drive wheel upon said axle, a drive gear within said housingand turned by said wheel, a reversing gear Within said housing andmeshing with said drive gear, a hub upon said reversing gear, said hubextending exteriorly of the housing to receive a drive connection from aweeding rod, and means for floatingly mounting said housing at one endof a weeder frame and maintaining said wheel in constant perpendicularrelation with such weeder frame during the floating movements of saidhousing,

5. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a rotatably mounted drive wheel,means for floatingly mounting said wheel at one end of a weeder "tameand maintaining said wheel in constant perpendicular relation with suchframe during the floating movements, a drive gear turned by said wheel,a reversing gear turned by said drive gear, and a hub upon saidreversing gear for receiving a drive connection from a weeding rod forturning the latter in a direction opposite to the rotation of said drivewheel.

6. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a rotatably mounted drive wheel,means for floatingly mounting said wheel at one end of a weeder frameand maintaining said wheel in constant perpendicular relation with suchframe during the floating movements, a drive gear turned by said wheel,a reversing gear turned by said drive gear, and a drive cable extendingfrom said reversing gear for attachment to a weeding rod for driving thesame in a direction opposite to the rotation of said drive wheel.

7. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a rotatably mounted drive wheel,a drive gear turned by said drive wheel, a reversing gear meshing withsaid drive gear, a drive cable turned by said reversing gear andslidably mounted therein, and means for floatingly mounting all of saidparts at one end of a weeder frame, said means maintaining said driveWheel in constant perpendicular relation with such weeder frame duringthe floating movements of said wheel.

8. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a housing, an axle mounted in thehousing, a drive Wheel upon said axle, said drive wheel having a rimextending over said housing, a drive gear Within said housing and turnedby said wheel, a reversing gear within said housing and meshing withsaid drive gear, a hub upon said reversing gear, said hub extendingexteriorly of the housing to receive a drive connection from a Weedingrod, and means for fioatingly mounting said housing at one end of aweeder frame and maintaining said wheel in constant perpendicularrelation with such weeder frame during the floating movements of saidhousing.

9. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a housing, an axle mounted insaid housing, a drive wheel upon said axle, a drive gear within saidhousing and turned by said wheel, a reversing gear within said housingand meshing with said drive gear, a hub upon said reversing gear, saidhub extending exteriorly of the housing to re ceive a drive connectionfrom a weeding rod, a guide casing for attachment to a weeder frame, aslide bar rising from said housing and passing vertically through saidguide casing, and rollers journaled in said casing and in contact withsaid slide bar.

10. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a guide casing for attachment tothe end of a weeder frame, a slide bar passing vertically through saidguide casing, guide rollers journaled within said casing and in contactwith said slide bar, a stub axle carried by said slide bar, a drivewheel upon said axle, a drive gear turned by said wheel, a reversinggear meshing with said drive gear, and a hub upon said reversing gearfor receiving a drive connection from a weeding rod.

11. A drive for a rod weeder comprising a stub axle, an upright slidebar rising from said axle, means for slidably mounting said slide bar atone end of a weeder frame, a drive wheel upon said axle, a drive gearturned by said wheel, a reversing gear meshing with said drive gear, anda hub upon said reversing gear for receiving a drive connection from aWeeding rod.

12. In a weeder embodying a frame with downwardly projecting membershaving a weeding rod rotatably mounted therein; a stub axle fioatinglyconnected to one end of said frame by means of parallel bars pivotallymounted at their inner and outer ends, a drive wheel upon said axle, anda drive means operatively connecting said weeding rod to said drivewheel and turning said weeding rod opposite to the rotation of saiddrive wheel.

CHARLES F. BLOOM.

